I do not have any records as I am collecting digital and only on a track basis, but CAVENDISH (or Boosey in their fringe time) are top notch and my favourites despite that is not easy to say as music is just so beautifully diverse. But I must say these red CAV LPs are rad!
As one that loves 80s and 90s library music with a technology, synthesizer and pop theme, CAVENDISH is just amazing. Their catalogue features almost completely "sure-plays" (tracks that I don't skip when they are randomly selected by my stereo) and their cover arts are absolutely amazing. It (or they) are such a great label which really value their stock and many of their albums could be sold in stores and it would find lovers.
Also, CAVENDISH albums are the ones when I introduce my peers that always talk about this fake retro stuff from nowadays. This mix of well-produced pop and synthesizer tracks with great and catchy melodies and artworks that are just so "
Bam"!Entering "CAVENDISH" and "BOOSEY" on my system:
I kind of miss the "We have the technology" album with that robotic baby - these tracks were re-relases of the album in the bottom corner - "B&H Synthesizer", so I took that instead.
Each of these albums have their distinctive sound and are never boring.
You asked for my favourite tracks? To be honest, all of them, as these are hand-selected anyways
But it depends what I want to listen to.
"Blueprints" - that cover BTW is a recolored version of a PARRY MUSIC LP cover art
- has intriguing tracks such as "Test Bench" and "Surface Tension" but also "Spacewalk" which slows me down mentally.
"Industrial Landscapes" - Quirky synthpop of all variations in either radio pop or rhythmic robotic tracks that I just enjoy to listen to. "First Impression" for example with the instruments being spread through the stereo panorama.
"Breaking Glass" - Heh, a lightbulb with wolfram. The mastering is a bit of a lower quality, but that makes it to me.
"Updwardly Mobile" - "Flightpath" - What a fine track! Spacious synth pads, clean percussion, snythesizer bass guitar, piano and again great to litsen to thanks to a great stereo panning (shakers on the left, tambourine on the right, cowbell even further to the right...), change in tempo twice..
"Textures" - "Hi-Texture" - that "Crockett's Theme"-esque sound being re-invented is just great. Thick synthpads - Mr. Arch did it again!
"To Every Action" - I fell in love within the first 3 seconds of "Voice Activator". Synthesized voices (known as "Voice Ohs" in the General MIDI set) with spacious mixing - and a cover that puts every "Vaporwave" garbage to shame. This is the real deal from 1988!
"Dawn Traders" - "Industrial Average" - Solid pop-rock track with great pacing!
"Inner Visions" - Strange to see Terry Devine-King producing for CAV! Anyways, "Focal Point" has this nice movie soundtrack feel to it (well, it's library), but its innocent and driving sound giving a "questioning", "confused" sound to me, is just so great and fun to listen to. Almost as your pet is looking at you and you ponder what it wants.
"Optional Extras" - "Dimension D" - oh my god, my first library rock track. It is just "whoa" and usually a grab to my remote to pump up the volume a few units! This track is wrongly labelled on the "POND5" website
"Night Crowd" - again, a rock track that could have jumped the radio charts with ease.
"Audio Dynamite" - There is this great, constant driving FM rock sound to "Power Up" that I enjoy so much. No time for BS, just great, motivating 90s rock! The outro with the rock organ is lovely but unfortunately gets suffocated in a fade out..
"Painting by Numbers" - Robochef has this to me irrisistably late 80s, early 90s "Nickelodeon" sound to it that just give me flashbacks... Oh yeah, the track itself is great too
"Soft Sport" - 1992, a the rock and synth combination of "Symmetry" is just so relaxing and great on headphones! Another well-produced track and treat for my ears!
I'd like to hear more 80s B&H tracks, but they seem to be rare. I wonder how many hidden gems are there, but what I have here, mostly the CD-reissues under CAVENDISH are a treat already!
